Questions and Answers

A while ago I saw that airpods pro were ‘on sale’ on the chase UR portal for 20,749 points or $249.00, down from 24,000 points. Is this a good deal? Is it ever a good deal to use miles to buy products/items instead of redeeming it for miles?

Thank You!

Everything is relative… If you’re short on cash and needed the airpods, it might have been a good redemption for you. In general though most folks would like their UR redemptions to be a little higher than 1.2cpp.

I agree with Guarav, but would also add that the best way to redeem your points is in a way that you’re happy with.

We are redeeming 70,000 points to upgrade to the new iphone this month. A year ago, I wouldn’t have believed you if you told me we were doing that. But, right now, I’m more content with parting with the points than $750ish in cash. We also thankfully have six figure balances in multiple point currencies, so that helps too… but the point is, redeem your points however you want 🙂

Thank you both!

Gaurav, when you say “most folks would like their UR redemptions to be a little higher than 1.2cpp” – are you comparing the 1.2cpp ($249 / 20,729) versus Ben’s valuation that Chase UR are worth 1.7cpp?

Hey Jyoti, I think the 1.2cpp is based on being able to redeem 1 point for 1.25 cents toward travel via the Ultimate Rewards portal (if you have the Preferred – 1.5 cents if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve). So, if you assume that is essentially cash (albeit, towards travel), as long as you are getting an equal value there, you are coming out ahead

Also, depending on how you are earning–if you generate UR at 1UR/$ you might be better off switching to a 2% cash back card for cash expenses.